Tuesday’s congressional election results in Connecticut were indicative of the national outcome. Good voter turnout, tight races, and cliffhangers were the order of the day.

Although as of press time, the exact number of University voters was unavailable, President of the Connecticut College Democrats Matt Lesser ’08 was able to share the number of registered student voters on campus.

“I know that turnout was astonishingly high, and I can tell you that there are 412 Wesleyan students registered to vote in Middletown, of whom 4 are Republicans with the rest being Democrats, minor party members, and unaffiliates,” Lesser said.

The WesRepublicans and the WesDems received permission and program money from the University to host a “Party at the Polls” in front of Olin Library. Volunteers flyered the campus and decorated the front lawn of Olin in red, white, and blue decorations. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., students were treated to live bands, a cappella groups, free Dunkin’ Donuts, and shuttle service to the polling center on Broad Street.

“I was impressed with the level of on-campus organization for election day,” said Anna Schindler ’09.

However, Anjali Carrasco ’07 experienced a few frustrations while voting at the Broad Street Senior Center.

“Most of the line was composed of Wesleyan students, but whenever Middletown residents arrived they were allowed to skip ahead to the front,” she said. “Additionally, one of the poll workers was able to see what we had marked on our ballots as we slid it through the tally machine.”

WesDems also worked hard to register voters before election day even began.

“During the week leading up to the Election, almost 100 students canvassed for the various candidates in Connecticut,” said WesDems President Betti Packman ’07.

In Connecticut’s Gubernatorial race, M. Jodi Rell (R) was re-elected to another term as Governor, beating New Haven Mayor John DeStefano (D) by nearly 30 percentage points. Incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman won re-election, running as an independent. To the surprise of some, the Lieberman-Lamont race wasn’t as close as predicted, with Lieberman garnering nearly 115,000 more votes than his opponent. Although Lamont’s loss is officially the loss of a Democratic seat, Lieberman has said he will continue to caucus with the Democrats.

Connecticut’s House seats went almost completely to the Democrats with Chris Murphy (D) ousting long-time House Representative Nancy Johnson (R) in the fifth district and Joe Courtney (D) narrowly beating incumbent Rob Simmons (R) by less than 200 votes in the second district. As of press time, a recount was being ordered.

“Although I’m a Wesleyan student, I’m registered to vote in my home district of Durham,” said Hannah Hastings ’08. “This gave me the opportunity to be an active participant in the Courtney-Simmons race.”

Both at the University and across the state, college students took an active part in the campaign process. Lesser spoke about the Connecticut College Democrats’ efforts at nearby schools.

“At UConn, if the current results hold after the recount, we will have won the election for Congressman-elect Joe Courtney,” Lesser said. “We increased turnout 688% from 137 to 942 in 2002 in the main precinct. Courtney’s currently leading by just about 150 votes, so that margin could have won him the election. Additionally, at UConn, Fairfield and Eastern Connecticut State University, we hired limos to give kids free rides to the polls.”

In the first and third districts, Democrats John Larson and Rosa DeLauro (the University’s Congresswoman) were re-elected, while long-time Republican incumbent Chris Shays narrowly defeated Diane Farrell (D) in the fourth district. In the State Legislature, Democrats now appear to control veto-proof super-majorities of both houses for the first time in 30 years.

Political power shifts occurred throughout the nation as well, with Democrats gaining majorities in both the House and the Senate. With a national voter turnout of 83 million Americans, or 40.4 percent of the eligible electorate, Tuesday saw a slight increase from the 2002 midterm elections. For the first time since 1994, Democrats hold a majority of the nation’s governorships after taking 20 of 36 races, including contests in battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado that will be crucial to the 2008 presidential race. Democrats will lead the Republicans 234 to 201 in the House and are likely to elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as the first Madame Speaker.

Meanwhile, the Senatorial races in Montana and Virginia left the nation on the edge of its seat as constituents waited to see who would control the Senate. By Wednesday evening, both Jim Webb (D-VA) and Jon Tester (D-MO) had claimed victory and solidified the Democratic power take-over on capital hill.

“This is an exhilarating time for Democrats,” said Jen Spiller ’07, reflecting on the election outcome. “Today, with our new Democratic Congressional majority, we are full of hope for a better tomorrow.”

In celebration, the WesDems will sponsor a 90s dance party tonight at Psi U from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. The event is $3 with a WesID.

“There were some hard Democratic losses in Connecticut, but nationally, hope was victorious in this election, and it’s time for the Democrats to get to work,” Packman said.